Communication
by Seijuku Ceremony
Summary: Tatsumi realized he and Lubbock really need to work on their communication. (Tatsumi x Lubbock) Yaoi, fluff


Tatsumi changed into his outgoing clothes after taking a long bath in the hot springs behind the base. He planned to take on a mission for money after destroying a rather expensive painting from doing chores yesterday. Najenda nearly killed him but settled with temporarily dislocating his shoulder until Leone had to patch him back up. Those are times where he rethinks on why he joined Night Raid in the first place. Oh that's right, so they won't kill him.

He headed out his room and down the hall, hoping he wouldn't run into anybody. Mostly Leone. After licking his ear as some weird 'claiming mark' he made sure to steer clear of her path as well. Mine is way too scary and its pretty clear she wants him dead. Akame is ready to kill him with the snap of Najenda's fingers, no matter how friendly she is at the moment. The only sane person in the group is Lubbock, which he is very grateful for.

"Okay okay, your turn." He heard Leone say. Tatsumi raised an eyebrow and stopped just at the opening of the living room to see Leone and Lubbock sitting on the couch.

"Hmm... Akame or Mine?"

"Heh. Akame~" What are they talking about?

"Ah of course." Lubbock said with a knowing look. Leone clapped her hands eagerly.

"My turn! Heehee..." Tatsumi blinked when Leone stared directly at him with her eyes. Wait... what's with the feline grin?

"Okay, let's see... who would you fall in love with if there were no one else alive on this planet? Tatsumi or Najenda?"

Tatsumi gawked at the question and was sure Lubbock would forfiet this so-called game. Too his bewilderment, Lubbock calmly thought over the question as though it was tough on not to choose the claimed love of his life over Tatsumi.

"Jeez, that's a tough one..."

Tatsumi made an 'X' sign at Leone but the woman just smirked at him and continued to listen to Lubbock.

"So who do you say?"

"... Tatsumi."

So much for a peaceful morning. Tatsumi covered his mouth with a heavy blush to prevent screaming "WHAT!?" at the two. Leone could see his inner conflict and decided to add more salt on the wound.

"Lubbock. How about we make a bet?" She asked mischievously.

"A bet?" Lubbock repeated with a confused look.

"If you tell Tatsumi about what you said, then I'll pay you a hundred dollars. Bonus cash if you can get him to kiss you~"

"E-Eh!?"

'He likes Najenda!' is what Tatsumi would love to yell. However, that would give away his position to Lubbock.

"Come on, Lubbock. Free cash and a free boyfriend!"

And that is where he left before his heart could give out. Tatsumi was very content with staying in his room for several hours to contemplate on the event as well.

* * *

"Hey Tatsumi." Tatsumi jolted and spun around with a forced grin.

"H-Hello, Lubba" He greeted nervously. Lubbock was staring at him with a small smile.

"Do you have a minute?" He asked politely. Oh no. It's the bet! Then again he can't be too sure.

"Um yeah. What is it?" Tatsumi asked.

"So earlier... I-"

"A-ah I uh forgot to make my bed!" Tatsumi interrupted panicked. Lubbock raised his eyebrows.

"Oh. Well then maybe after-"

"Then I have to catch food with Akame! Sorry I forgot how busy I was. T-Take care!" He said before rushing down the hall. Lubbock only waved goodbye with a confused look.

* * *

After dinner, Tatsumi was cleaning the dishes and sighed deeply. He felt terrible for lying, but he did not know how to deal with that kind of stuff. Feelings and what not... Isn't that what Najenda warned him on what could get assassins killed?

"I need a break..." Tatsumi muttered with another sigh.

"So do I." He jerked forward and realized it was Lubbock placing his plate on the counter. He had forgot Lubbock was the one to finish unusually last.

"Aha. We'll get one soon." Tatsumi humorously replied. His face warmed when it came to mind that they are the only ones in the kitchen. Which means...

"So, now that you're not busy. I was going to say-"

"Phew! Look at the time!" Tatsumi suddenly called out, although there was no clock nearby. "Are you sure you're not tired?"

Lubbock gave an exasperated look. "No, but-"

"Well I sure am. How about we discuss whatever you have to say tommorrow? I'm uh zoning out a lot." Tatsumi excused quickly. Lubbock pursed his lips before exhaling deeply.

"Okay. Goodnight." He said before leaving. Tatsumi fought off the guilty conscience. This is for both of their own good! Besides, Lubbock ought to forget by the time morning comes around...

* * *

"So can I talk about yesterday?" Tatsumi mentally screamed from his seat on the couch when Lubbock suddenly appeared beside him the following morning. Why didn't he forget!?

"U-uh..."

"Come on. It won't take long. I promise. I just really need you to understand-"

"Lubba." Tatsumi interrupted. He couldn't make up an excuse, but how else can he dismiss The Big Discussion? "About that..."

"Hm?"

Tatsumi hid his panicking with a serious look.

"I... I sort of... lost part of my hearing during the mission yesterday." He made up. Lubbock furrowed his brows.

"You lost part of your hearing?"

"Y-Yeah. It was a realy tough mission and all. So... you know if it's anything serious I may not hear some of what you say. So... maybe it's best if you uh wait a tad bit longer." He felt bad, but he continued to convince himself that it was for the best.

It seemed like Lubbock was examining him carefully while going over his excuse with a stern look. Shit, Tatsumi forgot Lubbock is one of the intelligent people in the group. However, to his amazing luck, the older male only smiled.

"I see. Hope you get better." Lubbock only said encouragingly before leaving the room. Once he was out of sight, Tatsumi let out a deep air of relief. Good, that'll give him some time to collect his own thoughts. Or possibly perhaps have the whole discussion forgotten and never brought up again.

Tatsumi reopened his book, frowning slightly when his chest ached a little.

* * *

A week went by and Tatsumi realized that Lubbock had not tried to talk to him. About anything in fact. It is not like Tatsumi was affected by this or anything. You know, just the occasional heart ache when being greeted with silence. Nothing abnormal of course.

Leone seemed to be nudging Lubbock at times, but he would excuse himself to either read or help Najenda with paperwork. Eventually, Tatsumi had to blame himself.

"But what else was I supposed to do? Listen and then go 'cool'?" Tatsumi muttered to himself. He hoped talking to himself would not become an insane habit of his. "Lubba isnt a bad person at all... I'm not... completely into girls... then why do I keep pushing him away...?"

Simple, because he is too afraid to admit his own feelings. What feelings? The feelings he's been hiding since day one obviously. He thought it was a friend-crush, honest, but after several months passed, how could he resist Lubbock?

By being an idiot and not saying anything about how he feels.

"W-Well... it is just a bet. It's not like he took it serious or anything... Yeah, haha that's not like him at all." Tatsumi convinced himself.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Tatsumi flinched when he heard Leone speak behind him. What is with people sneaking up on him lately?

"Huh? What? No!" He responded fast. He was about to leave, but Leone grabbed his shoulder with a blank face.

"Hold on, kid. We need to talk." Goddammit.

"A-About what?" Tatsumi asked. The look he got from her suggested that he himself knew what it was. "I swear I don't hate him!"

"Hm?"

"Lubba. I know, I know! I'm a bad person. I should have stuck by and listened to him instead of coming up with petty excuses to convince him that I didn't have time to talk. But now I regret it because now he's completely ignoring me and it makes me feel worse and-"

"Slow down!" Leone said with a small laugh. "I'm not mad at you. I just wanted to give you some advice."

"Advice?" Tatsumi asked. Advice from Leone of all people is kind of iffy.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna steal your cash this time. Just some food for your thoughts. You know, in case you ever do decide to talk to Lubbock again."

"... What?"

"He totally likes you." Leone whispered in his ear before hopping off. Once again, his cheeks exploded in red and his hear fluttered. One more time:

Goddammit.

* * *

After a few days later, Tatsumi grew impatient with the silent treatment. He hated not being able to converse like normal with Lubbock. He also hated not being able to joke around or go on missions together. Even everyone else noticed their change in communication, but Lubbock would always reassure them that nothing is wrong. This meant Tatsumi is the one who has to bring up the discussion now.

Tatsumi went into the dining room later one day to see Lubbock reading a book quietly. With plenty of mental preparation that went right out the door, Tatsumi stepped up.

"U-Um... hey..." He said. Lubbock looked up from his book. Apparently perplexed that Tatsumi is talking to him.

"Oh. Hi."

... Now what? This is exactly why he avoided the discussion!

Before Lubbock could go back to his book, Tatsumi stepped closer while staring at the floor.

"So... I know you wanted to talk to me about the bet you and Leone made last week." He began.

"She told you?" Lubbock asked in surprised and Tatsumi shook his head with a sheepish grin.

"I actually heard you guys..." He said and Lubbock hid his blush.

"Oh..."

"So I haven't been completely honest." Tatsumi added on. "Every time you brought it up, I kind of made up excuses so we wouldn't have to talk about it." He confessed. Lubbock stood from his seat and closed the book.

"I know."

"What?"

"I knew all along." Lubbock clarified with a shrug. "At first I thought it was an inconvenience. After that, you were being pretty obvious."

"Ah... I'm sorry. I just didn't want to make you feel bad." Tatsumi apologized. Lubbock smiled and waved it off.

"It's fine. If you just would have listened to what I had to say, you wouldn't be so worried right now." Lubbock said. "I was just going to tell you about me and Leone's game. If I did, she'd pay me. That was it." Tatsumi flushed.

"But... the second part..." He added. "She said you had to..."

"There's no way I'd do that!" Lubbock retorted with a heavy blush. "N-Not saying that I don't want to. Well that's completely beside the point! It's just... that would be..."

Leone did say Lubbock likes him. That may be the case, just by watching Lubbock stammer on embarrassedly. However, it's hard to believe that this guy of all people would like him.

"Are you saying you don't want to?" Tatsumi asked, mentally slapping himself for seeming desperate.

"No, no not like that. It's just impossible. There's no way you'd want to, you know. Aha, I knew I was being stupid so I figured maybe it's just best to just drop everything. I'd rather keep our friendship rather than make things awkward."

Tatsumi watched Lubbock nervously glance around with a shy look. Great, he looks cute and gets to make him feel like crap.

"Hey..." He said while stepping in front of Lubbock. He may look calm and collected on the outside, but holy shit Tatsumi was crawling with nervousness on the inside. "I have something else to confess."

"Yes?"

"I also haven't been too honest with myself. I've been trying so hard to ignore these weird feelings that I completely forgot that you kind of feel the same way." Tatsumi said. His chest started to hurt from his pounding heart and fluttering after Lubbock finally looked at him.

"Feel the same way?" Lubbock asked.

"Yeah I... k-kind of... um... l-li-... hold on!" Tatsumi turned around and covered his red face with a mental scream of panic. How should he say it without seeming too sappy? Or what if he accidentally said it in a way that makes him seem uncaring? Should he ask Lubbock to say it first? Then again, what if this is all just some big misunderstanding and he was about to confess something completely irrelevant!?

"Tatsumi..."

"Ngh..."

Lubbock managed to pull his hands away from his face.

"Do you like me, Tatsumi?" Lubbock simply asked with a grin. Tatsumi stuttered on his answer, his heart begging to say 'Yes!' while his mind begged for 'Let me get back to you in a month!'

"I can't understand you." Lubbock muttered after listening to the illiterate boy. Tatsumi paused when two cool hands held his face.

"Shake your head no. Nod your head yes. Do you like me?"

Here goes.

Tatsumi hesitantly nodded his head as his blush grew darker. He was about to run out in embarrassment, but Lubbock flushed and smiled wider.

"I like you too." He said, stepping in so their chests touched. Tatsumi swallowed when Lubbock leaned his head in so their anxious breaths mingled.

"Is it okay if we..." Lubbock trailed off. Tatsumi knew exactly what he was about to ask and leaned in closer.

"I-If you want..."

"I'm asking you."

"It's your choice."

They continued to go back and forth until finally, Tatsumi grabbed Lubbock's waist and pressed his lips against the other teen's with no more patience. Lubbock had completely melted into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Tatsumi's neck. It felt like Heaven. To Tatsumi, it felt like he had just died and discovered the wonders of the afterlife. Why didn't he just confess his feelings sooner if Lubbock was in the same boat all along!?

Finally, they broke apart and panted for air.

"Guess what?" Lubbock said after regaining his breath.

"What?" Tatsumi asked. Lubbock hummed and pressed his index finger against Tatsumi's chest.

"I got a boyfriend now." He stated, causing Tatsumi to blush. "And..." Lubbock turned his head to the side.

"You owe me money!" Lubbock yelled at Leone, who had appeared from behind the kitchen wall.

"Dammit..." She muttered.


End file.
